Every graduation year comes the story of a special youth that restores our hope and faith in the next generation. Valedictorian Kristin Johnson is one of those people. She has had a tremendous academic career and recently won 9 scholarships to college and has decided to attend Yale in the fall studying molecular biology. What she holds close to her heart is her friendship with Eliot Webster whom she got to know thru her volunteerism with the Special Olympics.

Health officials are cracking down on the sale of raw milk for fear of food borne illnesses and contaminations like E. coli, salmonella. Many swear by raw milk claiming it has great healing powers in it's raw form. However the FDA is urging consumers to know that pasturization cleans raw milk of impurities without extracting its nutrients all while extending the shelf life.

On Wednesday June 11th Louisiana House Bill 958 was introduced and passed legislation for an insurance mandate requiring insurance companies to cover services for some therapies related to autism. The bill is now on the way to the Govenor's desk. Insurance companies will cover up to $144,000.00 for each child.

Scientists at the University of Washington Autism Center utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging and noted that most severely socially impaired subjects displayed abnormal connectivity patterns in a network of brain regions that are heavily involved in face processing. What this shows is that regions of the brain fail to work cohesively with one another and causes inefficiency in processing data.

NBC's Today Show today ran a video segment detailing the high cost that surrounds supporting the needs of a child with autism. As we all know, the costs of therapies, diets, biomedical treatments and the like add up very quickly. Legislators in many states are introducing bills that mandate insurance coverage to keep costs down for families. Many conservatives oppose these bills as they fear that it will drive up insurance costs.

Living in an industrial city? Many health researchers think there may be a link in a child's proximity to industry and the amount of mercury that some industrial sites release into our environment.

There are mountains of controversy surrounding stem cell research. Can it help us? Many scientists think so. Forbes has put together a series of articles surrounding the topic, and briefly discusses how it may be able to help in learning more about autism.

A certain protein, essential to neurons communication process with the brain is greatly hindered when Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) is present. Scientists discovered new information in how FXS interferes with signaling between the nucleus of nuerons and the synapse. Researchers will release their findings in the June 10th issue of Developmental Cell.

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network is a non profit group that is setting their sights on breaking down the walls and advancing the autism culture, and advocating for neurodiverse individuals. Their message is "Stop the search for a cure and begin celebrating autistic people for their differences". This has caused some controversy between the group and some parents of children with autism.
ABC News Autistic and Proud